Choices
by Sebastian the Mercat
Summary: Looking at all the destruction she had caused, at all the pain...Max Caulfield couldn't help but wonder if she truly made the right choice. Caulscott. Additional warnings inside.
1. Chapter 1

**_Salutations! I don't know what else to say!_**

 ** _Warnings: Very emotionally intense, medical stuff, description of gore/blood, mentions of drug use, abuse, mention of rape/non-con, cursing, PTSD, death_**

 ** _Pairing: Kind of Max/everyone. However, this focuses more on Max and Nathan, so probably Caulscott._**

 ** _Important note: This was written after the release of episode 5. This is if you choose the "Sacrifice Arcadia Bay" ending, and Chloe and Max decide to not be douchebags and actually check on the town to see if people are still living._**

 ** _Also, the chronology of the end of episode 4/episode 5 was kind of confusing for me personally. So don't mind it if I fuck anything up!_**

Max took a sip of coffee, sighing heavily as the liquid warmed her chest. She stared into the swirling blackness of her drink, refusing to raise her head, but knowing she must.

Looking up, she winced. Two Whales, while still standing, looked utterly destroyed, with toppled tables and debris everywhere...not to mention the people...

Max shuddered, looking back down at her mug. For the past several hours, emergency crews from surrounding towns had been combing through the wreckage that was Arcadia Bay, trying to save those who could be saved. Chloe and Max had helped out a lot as well, having known where the majority of the people were at the time the storm hit - one of the advantages of having powers, Max supposed.

Arcadia Bay actually fared rather well - it was a tough and sturdy town, with people just as such. Max was very happy to say that, of the very few causalities she had heard of, she knew not one of them. However...

A hand landed on Max's shoulder causing her to jump, whirling around. Joyce stared at her wide-eyed, taking a step back.

"Whoa there, Max. Didn't mean to startle you," she said, giving Max a small smile. "I was just checking to see if you needed your coffee topped-off.

"N-no, Joyce, I'm fine," Max stuttered, giving her a smile, trying to cover her wince. Gently grabbing ahold of Joyce's left arm, she began leading her over to the part of the diner that had been cleared out, where the injured currently were waiting to be taken to the hospital. "Y-you should be resting..."

Joyce gave Max an irritated look. "Max, it's just a mild burn."

Looking at the charred mess that was Joyce's right arm, Max winced once more. "Regardless...you should be resting until the next ambulance comes."

Joyce sighed heavily, as Max maneuvered her back down onto her stretcher. "I'm not the only one that should be resting, Maxine. You've been working yourself to death, today."

Max beamed a fake smile at her, before moving to cover an unconscious Warren's shivering body with a blanket (for about the third time - he honestly moved so much in his sleep). "Well...people need help..." she explained to Joyce.

"And they're getting it. Honestly, Max, take a breather. You don't have to be the hero for everyone."

Max winced at those words, looking down at Warren. At Warren's fading bruises from earlier that week, that melded together with the brutal scarring across half his face, the imbedded glass shards sparkling red from the window that had exploded right next to him.

She could have been the hero for everyone. And maybe she should have been.

Looking up, seeing Joyce's now-useless arm, Frank cradling a severely injured Pompidou, Evan in a neck brace...Max couldn't help but wonder if it was all worth it?

"Yo! Mad Max with the mad ass!" a loud voice called, before arms were thrown around Max's shoulders. Chloe whirled her around beaming. "You did it! You managed to save me and the town!" she whispered, her eyes glowing with happiness.

"Yeah...sorta..." Max murmured, glancing back over her shoulder at the destruction.

"There's no "sorta" about it! You managed to save everyone that we know! That's gotta count for something!" Chloe wrapped an arm around Max's shoulders once more, walking her a ways away from the injured. At seeing Chloe so...happy, Max couldn't help but smile a little. "Not to mention that step-hero and his new-found buddies on the Arcadia Bay Police are currently ransacking Jeffuckerson's crib right now!"

Max's smile disappeared. She swayed on her feet, before sinking down to the floor. "Max?!" Chloe exclaimed, grabbing ahold of her upper arms tightly. She peered into Max's glassy eyes, fear in her own, as Max's nose began bleeding again.

Distantly, Max felt herself being laid down on the dirty floor of the diner, Chloe's panicked face above her own. She heard Chloe shouting for help, but by then, Max's hearing was leaving her and her vision was tunnelling.

Before she passed out completely, however, Max managed to mutter one last sentence.

"I...didn't save everyone. . ."

 _Darkness. Then light. A single light. She had to go there._

 _All around her was silent. And then it began._

 _"Max...it's...it's Nathan..." His voice began, quivering, so scared... "I just wanted to say...I'm sorry..."_

 _His voice cracked, before a harsh sob echoed, deafeningly loud, all around her. "He used me! He...h-he was so nice to me, Max...nicer than you or anyone else was! But he still used me!"_

 _Max fought towards the light, trying to escape the voice ringing in sadness in desperation. The darkness around her was turning splotchy, blood red, and the ringing in her ears was causing her heart to race._

 _"Why didn't you help me, Max?! Why didn't you save me?!" his voice cried out. "Is it because I'm mentally ill? Is it because I was abused? Did you think I was beyond help, is that why?!"_

 _Max felt liquid on her face and she wasn't sure if it was tears or blood._

 _Either way, she felt like she was drowning_

 _"Why, Max?! WHY?!"_

 _Max gasped, as she finally stumbled into the beam of light, allowing the red and black darkness to fade away._

 _However, laying on the ground in the center of the pool of light was Nathan. He was nearly naked, his clothes hanging in shreds off his body. Every inch of skin was covered in gruesome injuries, scars, bruises, burns...slowly, he turned his head staring up at Max with unseeing eyes. "Sorry...I...guess I deserved this."_

 _Max opened her mouth to deny those words, to say something comforting._

 _However, it wasn't her voice that came out._

 _"Oh Nate," Mr. Jefferson spoke through her, "Of course you didn't."_

 _Nathan looked up at her with such hope in his eyes, Max felt her stomach do flips. Slowly, her arm raised against her will, and only then did she realize she held in it a loaded gun._

 _"You deserved so much worse," she said, before pulling the trigger-_

"Stop!" Max screamed, finally coming back into awareness. She jerked her head from side to side as the vision faded away.

"Max!" someone exclaimed from beside her, before a pair of arms wrapped around her, halting her movements. "It's alright Max!"

She jerked, turning around in shock to see Kate sitting cross-legged on the chair beside her bed.

"K-Kate?! Where-"

"It's alright! You apparently passed out at Two Whales...everyone was super concerned about you so they sent you on the ambulance here," Kate explained calmly. "And your friend Chloe went back to the diner to continue helping people out."

Max sighed in relief, though she felt tense at having Chloe so far away from her, considering everything that had happened in the past week.

Kate glanced at Max out of the corner of her eye. "Are...you okay? You...acted like you were having a really bad nightmare."

"I'm fine," Max said quickly. In spite of her words, she winced, remembering what had happened in her dream.

Kate bit her lip, before sighing. "Max...you realize...you're my best friend, right?"

"Of course, Kate," Max said giving her a small smile. Kate still looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"So...you realize you can tell me anything, right?"

Max nodded, unable to say a word.

"This has been a very...crazy week..." Kate continued. "I...don't really understand most of what happened, really...but...I just want you to know that you are super important to me. A real hero!"

Max suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth. "I'm going to be sick..."

Kate immediately handed her a bag, and Max threw up the coffee she had been drinking earlier. She coughed and sputtered as Kate patted and rubbed her back. Max's vision darkened slightly, as the words, _"Time to be an everyday hero,_ " echoed in her mind.

Without even having realized it, Max had begun sobbing, her body heaving as she fought to rid her body of the emotions she was suddenly being assaulted with.

 _Was it worth it?_

Kate held her for a long time, rocking her back and forth, whispering nonsensical comforting words into Max's ear.

"It's alright, Max," Kate whispered gently, "It's okay. Everything's over."

 _"Everything will be over soon..."_

Max choked back another sob. She needed to get it together! There were people out there that were hurting, that needed help - she didn't need to be worried about, she needed to be doing...something!

After all, these people were needing help because of her.

 _Did I make the right decision?_

"Max?" Kate questioned.

Max pushed her away slightly, climbing to her feet. "Max!" Kate exclaimed.

"I'm fine...I'm feeling much better," Max said quietly.

Kate's eyes bugged as Max staggered to the door to her hospital room. "Max! Chloe will KILL me if you leave this room-"

Max swung the door open, looking around. The halls were crowded with injured people and their families, people trying to locate missing family members, trying to morn those they had lost. Max took a deep breath, fighting her way through the crowd, remembering how abandoned these halls had been when she visited Kate.

It seemed like that happened years ago.

She stared at the faces of the people, many of whom she knew, many of whom she didn't. Many people greeted her by name, or even with a hug, or sometimes a little wave. In spite of all of that, she still felt strange, numb, like she wasn't really herself. Like she wasn't really seeing all these people, like they didn't exist. Or maybe she didn't.

She had no idea where she was going, just that she needed to go somewhere, to escape the stifling air of that hallway.

She needed to be able to breath, to be able to realize that she was alive.

Without even having realized it, Max had found herself in the waiting area of the emergency room, breathing in deeply the cool air drifting in from the open do. or. The room was surprisingly empty - most of the people in need of urgent care must have made it to the hospital already. Max slowly walked over to the doors, looking out over the Ambulance loading dock.

The majority of the storm must have avoided the hospital, thank goodness. It was still a bad mess on the roads, though - it was incredible that people had been able to make it to the hospital.

Max jolted, as the screeching of sirens filled her ears. Coming up a narrow stretch of cleared road were several police cars, their lights on and sirens blaring. However, it wasn't those cars that caught her eye - it was the car leading them there.

It was David Madsen's.

Max swallowed hard. They must have just finished up with the Dark Room, she mused.

But...then...why did they come to the hospital.

David pulled right up to the ambulance loading dock, practically climbing out of his car before he put it in park. Instead of charging up the stairs like Max expected him to, however, he rounded around to the backseat of his car, flinging the door open.

Meanwhile, another police officer had parked her patrol car right beside David's. She exited as quickly as he had, circling around to the passenger side of her car. However, the door opened on it's own and-

Max gasped, a hand coming up to cover her mouth.

Victoria Chase stumbled out of the passenger side of the car, gripping tightly to a blanket around her shoulders. She immediately lunged towards David's car, fighting against the grip of the officer, who was urging her towards the steps.

"No!" Victoria screamed, surprising Max. "No! I need to be with him! Please!"

Max stumbled down the steps without thinking, a hand landing solidly on Victoria's shoulder - Max breathed in deeply, hardly believing Victoria was here, standing right beside her. Alive. Okay.

Not that she seemed okay, judging by the blood soaking the blanket around her shoulders, or the tears streaming down her face.

"Victoria!" Max exclaimed, throwing her arms around the other girl without thinking. Victoria jumped, seemingly just realizing Max was there. The officer took a step back, looking Max in the eye.

"Can you escort her in?" the officer asked. Max nodded solemnly, and the officer was off, heading down to help David with his car.

Victoria was shaking hard in Max's arms.

"C-come on," Max said, urging her to walk into the hospital. Victoria leaned heavily on her, but was still pulling away slightly, whimpers escaping her throat. Max swallowed hard. "It's okay...you're safe now-"

"B...b-but..." Victoria whimpered.

They had finally made it through the door, and where now standing in the harsh lighting of the hospital. Max swallowed back the bile building up in her throat at seeing the sheer amount of blood on Victoria.

Quickly, a doctor approached them, gently pushing Victoria into a wheelchair. Max lingered awkwardly near her side as the doctor began questioning her.

"Are you hurt?" Victoria merely covered her face, shaking her head back and forth. "Where are you hurt? There is a lot of blood..."

Victoria suddenly looked up, her eyes filling with tears. She bowed her head, rubbing at her arms covered in dried blood.

"I-it's...it's...it's n-not mine..." she whimpered so quietly, Max thought she had heard wrong. However, one second later she screamed, digging her nails into her skin. "It's not mine! N-none of it! It's not my b-blood!"

Max kneeled down beside her, laying a comforting hand on her knee. Victoria didn't even seem to feel it, her body shaking as she sobbed her soul out, large tears rolling down her face, dripping onto her blood-stained legs.

A sudden shout came from the door, from someone outside. "We need a stretcher out here! Now!"

Max watched as the doctor that had been trying to talk to Victoria rushed to help another take a stretcher outside. She heard shouts from outside, people demanding things of each other, before an animalistic sound of pure agony briefly shot through the quiet late-afternoon air.

Victoria's sobbing got worse, her breaths coming quickly. Max shook her head. She needed to help Victoria before she had a panic attack.

Max turned to fully face Victoria, her fingers gently touching the girl's jawline. Victoria flinched at the touch.

"Victoria, you need to look at me, alright?" Max said firmly. "You need to calm down, alright?"

Victoria looked up at her slowly, her wide eyes focusing on Max, briefly.

And then a sound came from the door. Victoria looked over, gasping, before letting out a scream, her hands covering her face once more.

Max whirled, wondering what had caused her to react to violently.

She froze, her breath catching in her throat.

The stretcher was wheeled by her quickly, so quickly she could only glimpse the person on it - but that glimpse was enough, because time seemed to freeze.

He was nearly unrecognizable, the sheer amount of bloody scars and lacerations across his body making him appear to resemble more a several-days-old piece of roadkill than a person. Several limbs seemed to be at awkward angles and - most concernedly, his back appeared to be strangely kinked. His eyes were swollen shut with horrifying bruises, and bloody strips of hair fell into his face, stuck.

Without even having realized it, Max had reached out with a shaking hand, hardly breathing. Only when David Madsen gently but firmly grabbed ahold of her shoulders, did Max realize she had started to go after the stretcher.

She sunk to her knees, a hand covering her mouth as she sobbed breathlessly. She sobbed and cried, slamming her fists onto the clean white hospital floor, until she felt like she couldn't cry another tear ever again. Distantly, she noticed the other officers making their way through the room, she saw Victoria wheeled away.

Finally, she took a deep shuddering breath. Glancing behind her, Max was surprised to see David still kneeling beside her, a very tired look on her face.

Max opened her mouth to thank him for staying with her, but those words weren't what left her mouth. "H-he...he..."

David took a deep breath, closing his eyes. Sighing, his hand tightened on Max's shoulder. "I...know..."

Max rubbed at her eyes. "I...can't believe he's dead..."

David's eyebrows furrowed, as he looked at Max in confusion. "Max..." She looked up at him. "Nathan...he's not dead..."

Max stared at him for what felt like an eternity - however, it was only a moment, as in the next moment, she passed out once more.

 ** _A/N Well. This was emotionally intense. See you next chapter!_**

 ** _Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Salutations dearies! Enjoy this chapter!_**

Max had no nightmares this time, for which she was grateful - especially considering what she had seen. This time, when Max awakened, Kate was once again sitting behind her. However, her face was far less kind.

"I told you!" she exclaimed, a pouty look on her face. "I told you you weren't well enough to leave! When Chloe finds out..."

Max stared at Kate's fretful face, before giving her a small smile - she couldn't help it; Kate was just too adorable.

However, that smile quickly slipped off her face as the events that had occurred in the emergency room came racing back to her. Max took in a shuddering breath, wrapping her arms around her torso as she rocked slightly.

"M...Max?" Kate asked, her voice worried.

"V-Victoria...Na...Nathan... they're..."

Kate bit her lip. "I...heard..."

Max groaned, suddenly bringing up her hands to grip her hair, tugging slightly. "I...oh my gosh...I-I...I can't believe..." Max turned desperate eyes to Kate, causing her to flinch. "You...should have seen them! Nathan...I couldn't believe he was...he looked dead..."

Kate swallowed hard, looking away. _Right_ , Max mused, _Kate probably didn't know about the whole deal with the Dark Room and Jefferson... Jefferson!_

"Kate!" Max yelled, startling the other girl. "H-have you heard anything about J...J..." Max blinked in shock, shuddering slightly. She couldn't even speak his name, without feeling like she was going to be sick.

Kate's eyes met hers and she nodded slightly. "I...don't know much..." she admitted. "I know he's in jail now...but that's about it..."

Max sunk back against the pillows of her hospital bed, turning her head towards the window. It was dark out, by then. Late.

"Max? Can I ask you something?" Kate asked suddenly. Max turned to look at her, nodding.

"Of course, Kate."

She hesitated, her hands gripping onto the sheets of Max's bed, rounded nails digging into the material slightly. "N...Nathan..." she took a deep breath. "He...Jefferson...he did that to Nathan, didn't he?"

Max took a deep breath, before giving a slight nod. Kate released a breath, sitting back against the back of her chair.

"I...I can't believe it..." She looked at Max once more. "Were they working together? Or was Nathan...like me? What do you know?"

Max hesitated, swallowing. "I...I'm not sure...about any of it. I'm pretty sure Jefferson was manipulating Nathan...but..."

Kate immediately held up her hands. "I-it's fine...you should be resting, and here I'm interrogating you..."

Max gave her a gentle smile. "It's fine! I understand that you want to know. I want to know too..."

Kate stood up, stretching, before leaning forward and hugging Max. She tensed at the sudden touch, before returning the hug. "I...I want to believe Nathan wasn't involved," Kate admitted quietly. Max pulled back, giving her a shocked look. Kate gave a small shrug, her eyes sad. "He...is like me...in more ways than probably any of us know." She took a deep breath. "He...always acted like he was hurting. Like he needed help...and I understand that."

Max swallowed hard, remembering her words in the dark room. _"I cared about Nathan more than you ever did."_

Thinking back to how she was constantly accusing Nathan, breaking into his dorm...it was a sad truth that she probably had been nicer to Nathan than a majority of the people in his life. And she...she had been horrible to him.

No wonder he never asked her for help.

Kate pulled back, stretching once more, before heading for the door. "I'll be back in a bit...Frank was wanting me to get some food for his puppy!"

Max smiled, giving a small wave. "I'll...see you later, Kate."

Right before the door to her room closed, Kate turned around, giving her a stern look. "And don't you dare leave this room!"

Max sighed as soon as the door slammed shut, slumping down in her bed. She felt strangely exhausted, in spite of how much time she had spent unconscious that day.

 _Maybe this is just another side effect of my powers,_ Max mused. She sighed, laying back on the bed, planning on going to sleep.

However, sleep didn't come. A loud vibration coming from her bedside table caused her to sit up.

Her phone.

"Wowzers..." Max exclaimed, at seeing the sheer amount of missed texts and calls.

She quickly typed up replies to her parents, telling them she was okay, that no, she didn't need to come home that night.

The rest of the texts...

They were messages from her classmates and various other people she knew from around town, all telling her the extent of their injuries.

 _ **Evan Harris:**_ _I apparently got really bad whiplash and have to stay in this neck brace for a few weeks. UGH! This makes doing my fabulous hair pretty hard, but I guess it could have been worse. Thanks for helping me out of the rubble, Mad Max!_

 _ **Frank Bowers:**_ _thanks for savin pomp hes doin real well now just real sore_

 _ **Joyce Price-Madsen:**_ _How's our little hero holding up? I swear, without you, we might've all been lost...and Two Whales would've lost itself a great waitress. They're still working on my arm, but you know I'm tough. Like mother like daughter I suppose._

 _ **Alyssa Anderson:**_ _My object angel! Thank you so much for helping me to Two Whales...I apparently broke one of my legs, and wouldn't have been able to make it there without you! Thanks!_

 _ **Brooke Scott:**_ _I see why you appeal so much to Warren, now. Thanks for helping me out of Blackwell, I honestly owe you one. With how my glasses broke across my eyes, it would have been as impossible as combining water and oil to make my way out of there. So thanks._

 _ **Stella Hill:**_ _OMG thank you SO much Max for saving me! You and Chloe are my heroes! The surgery went well, and there wasn't an infection yet, so they only had to amputate my arm to the elbow. Which sucks...but hey, I'm alive, right?! (ok no im just reeeally high on painkillers rn lolololol) and omg this message took forever to type out im going to throw my fuckin phone_

 _ **Dana Ward:**_ _THANKS MAX I SWEAR I WOULD HAVE DIED WITHOUT YOU AND CHLOE! *KISSES* The doctors said my ribcage should heal soon enough, so I'll be able to dance once more~ LOVE YA!_

 _ **Hayden Jones:**_ _yoooo maximum overdrive hows it hangin? thanks for chargin into blackwell like some avenging angel and saving all of us! im diggin it. they say my burns arent shit and they should be fine. didnt give me enough shit tho so i had to self medicate lol but ill probably be feelin this in the morning amirite_

Max smiled slightly, in spite of the churning in her stomach. The fact that everyone was alright enough to text her made Max feel less anxious about her decision...however, the descriptions of their injuries...

Max winced, closing her eyes, letting her phone fall into her lap. Helping Stella had been especially brutal - the entirety of the pool building had collapsed, which was by far the worst damage done to Blackwell (most of the buildings appeared relatively unharmed). The unfortunate part was that the Vortex Party was being cleaned up at that time, meaning a lot of people were still there.

Stella was, luckily, close to the entrance at the time. However, she had been unconscious, her one arm hardly attached to her body. Needless to say, Max had immediately began helping her, screaming for back up as she did so.

Max jolted out of the memory, as her lap vibrated. She glanced at her phone, her heart freezing in her chest at the name.

 _ **Warren Graham:**_ _Max! I heard you're here at the hospital too! Come visit meh ^u^_

Max quickly typed back "What room are you in?"

Warren replied with a simple " _311_ " and Max was already out of her bed, heading for the door as she tugged on her sweatshirt over her t shirt.

Glancing out into the now nearly-empty hallway to make sure her personal hospital-bed-nazi wasn't standing out there, before she made her way to the elevator, hitting the "3" button.

As she waited, her phone buzzed once more. Warren, again.

 _ **Warren Graham:**_ _Just...so you know. I'm not alone in here. This is apparently the "critcal care center" or whatever, and they ran out of rooms, so we all had to double up._

Max narrowed her eyes, wondering why Warren felt the need to warn her, before shrugging. It was typical Warren. When she finally made it to his floor, she stepped off the elevator and made her way to his room.

Max entered Warren's room timidly, her teeth sinking into her lip. She wasn't sure of the extent of his injuries, wasn't sure how he'd react when he saw her...however-

"Max!" Warren exclaimed, jumping off his bed. Immediately, he threw his arms around her neck, hugging her tightly. Max gasped, jerking away, memories of Warren from her nightmare drifting back to her.

He immediately retracted his arms, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hug you so tightly...I'm just...really glad to see you."

Max swallowed hard, calming her breathing. The nightmare wasn't real, the way everyone acted in that nightmare wasn't real. She took another deep breath, before looking at Warren.

Her breath caught in her throat. Most of his face was bandaged, including one of his eyes. The bandages travelled down his neck, wrapping around his bare chest and part of the way down one of his arms. Mild burns were practically coating his entire body, making him look like he had a sunburn.

"H-hey...Max, it's alright! The bandages just make everything look a lot worse than it is...I'm just a happy mummy, is all!"

Max swallowed hard around the lump in her throat, forcing her tears down. Warren gave her a small smile, holding his arms out once again for a hug, this time letting her come to him.

Max immediately threw her arms around his shoulders, trying to keep her sobs at bay. "W-Warren...I'm so sorry..."

"For what?" he laughed. "I heard that it was you and that blue-haired wonder that saved me and everyone at Two Whales! If it wasn't for you...I might've died."

 _If it wasn't for me, this whole storm wouldn't have even happened._

"Besides," Warren said with a cheeky smile, pulling back. "Chicks dig scars. I think I'll look pretty badass with an eyepatch, don't you think?"

Max smiled, lightly batting at his good arm. "You are such a dork."

He shrugged. "What can I say?"

Max opened her mouth to continue their banter, but a low, pained moan suddenly filled the air.

"Shit," Warren cursed, heading over to the curtain separating his half of the room from the other half. He quickly peaked around it, his face drawn into an unreadable expression, before relaxing once more. "Good, I think he's just dreaming."

Max hesitantly approached the curtain, trying to ignore her now-racing heart. "Warren? Who's behind there?"

Warren bit his lip, shifting slightly. "Don't...don't freak out. As I said, they just ran out of room here, and both of us are apparently not in "good enough condition to be moved at this time" and he was literally just brought in here from surgery and he's going back into surgery in the morning-"

"Warren!" Max interrupted.

He took a deep breath, before pulling the curtain aside. Max gasped, though she had been expecting this.

Nathan looked a lot better than he had when he was first brought in - a lot of the dirt and blood had been cleaned from his body, and his wounds had been dressed. Warren's extensive wraps were nothing compared to Nathan - it appeared that the majority of his body that was visible had been wrapped in bandages.

The most concerning thing, however, was how pale he was. Nathan's skin was nearly translucent, it was so pale. His blood-tinged bangs were plastered to his forehead with a cold sweat, and his eyes moved rapidly below his eyelids.

Max finally managed to draw her eyes away from the body Nathan, trying to ignore how small and weak he looked, and focused on the medical equipment attached to him - a heart monitor that appeared to be going slightly too fast, the multiple bags of blood feeding into his veins, and the bag no-doubt filled with some sort of heavy pain medication.

"I...heard the doctors talking..." Warren suddenly said. Glancing at him, she noticed his face had gone gravely serious. "They said...there's a lot of internal damage. Like head trauma and some issues with his back, I think..." Warren clamped a hand on Max's shoulder. She swallowed, turning to meet his steely gaze. "I don't know how exactly he got this way...but I heard Mr. Madsen talking to those doctors when they brought him in. It's bad..."

Max stepped closer to Nathan, watching the slight rise and fall of his chest. A heartache so profound she was left breathless suddenly overcame Max. Without a thought as to what the repercussions of her actions might be, she suddenly clasped her hands around Nathan's too-thin hand, her thumbs gently rubbing the bandaged appendage. When it didn't even so much as twitch, Max gave it a slight squeeze, needing a response, a tangible one, to _know_ he was alive.

His hand didn't squeeze back.

 ** _A/N How bleak. See you next chapter!_**

 ** _Thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you enjoyed!_**


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